


Exam Room B

by steveandbucky



Series: in any version of reality [14]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Doctors & Physicians, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Hospitals, Kinda?, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, Minor Injuries, Nurse Bucky, Nurses, Nurses & Nursing, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Slow Build, Slow Romance, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 06:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6645433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steveandbucky/pseuds/steveandbucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wait, what do you mean he asked for me?”</p><p>“He asked if the cute male nurse with the ponytail was working today. I assume he meant you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exam Room B

 

The first time Bucky Barnes meets Steve Rogers is on a quiet Thursday night in early February, in the hospital he works in.

He makes his way back from the cafeteria after a much-deserved break, finishing his truly terrible coffee and tossing the paper cup into a nearby bin before heading to the front desk and picking up the first file.

“Steven Rogers?” he calls out to the waiting room.

The man stands up with a groan, his face mostly hidden by the wad of paper towels he’s holding to his nose. He’s also wearing a full-on Batman outfit, aside from the mask; the sight would be comical if it wasn’t something Bucky saw nearly every day, especially during the Halloween period.

“It’s Steve,” he mumbles.

“Okay, Steve, right this way,”

Bucky leads him to exam room B, and watches as the blonde man is ushered inside by a redheaded woman dressed in a Supergirl outfit, who’s muttering something incoherent under her breath.

“So, what happened here?” he asks.

“There was an incident,” he says, in a decisive tone of voice. Or, as decisive as one can sound when one’s nasal passages are mostly blocked.

The redhead snorts. “He punched a guy,” she supplies helpfully.

“Nat!” Steve cries out. “He groped you!”

“No, he _tried_ to grope me. I took care of it.”

Steve glares at her for a long moment.

Bucky glances between them, growing even more amused as he watches the interactions.

“Right,” he says, putting the file aside to do a quick check of the man’s nose, taking the paper towels away and tossing them in the bin. Luckily, the bleeding has stopped at this point, so he chucks them away and gets to cleaning up the guy’s face, all the while trying to not be distracted by the curious blue eyes that are fixated on his face, the perfect pout of those pink lips, the sharp jawline and cheekbones and _holy shit, get a fucking grip, Barnes!_

Bucky clears his throat and looks away, after a brief moment of eye contact which really shouldn’t be as intense as it is. The redhead – Nat – meets his eye and smirks at him, and he panics momentarily, hoping that she’s not Steve’s girlfriend and he did not just get caught checking out her man. Appearance-wise, she’s slim and of average height, and doesn’t seem very physically threatening, much like Steve. But something about the look in her eyes intimidates him, unlike Steve, who just seems perpetually annoyed at everything.

Bucky swallows hard, pretending to be reading the file once again before he goes to examine Steve’s nose, which thankfully doesn’t take that long, and he can step back a little. “Well, it doesn’t seem broken, maybe just a little bruised,” he says finally. There’s no swelling, but there’s a crook at the front of it, which looks like it’s from an old injury. “Has this always been here?” he asks just to make sure, tapping him on the nose lightly.

“Yes,” Steve says, now scowling slightly. “This isn’t my first rodeo,”

“I’ll say,”

“Nat, for the love of-”

“No, Rogers, you don’t get to ‘Nat-for-the-love-of-god’ me. You owe me an apology cake for making me drag your ass down to the ER and missing out on the party.”

Steve simply rolls his eyes at her, but his shoulders hunch a little, admitting defeat.

Bucky chuckles, amused at the interaction. “So, real hero type, are we?” he says, eyeing his costume with a slight smirk curving his lips.

“Sure, if that’s something you might be into,” Steve replies with a cheeky smirk of his own, eyes shining.

Well, _shit._

Okay.

Definitely not taken then, not if Nat’s snickering, covered by a fake cough is any indication.

Bucky purses his lips together to keep himself from smiling. “Not my cup of tea, to be honest,”

“Hmm,” Steve’s grin widens. “Are you more into the bad-boy types then?”

_What a sassy little shit._

Bucky shakes his head and picks up Steve’s file instead. Sure, it might be harmless, but flirting with patients is unprofessional, and he’s not sure he can actually say “Sorry, I’m not interested” and sound convincing. He’d never been that good of a liar.

So instead, he goes through a series of questions asking Steve about whether he’s dizzy and if he sustained injury to his head, all of which Steve answers with an air of ‘yes I’m fine can you just hurry up so I can get back to flirting with you some more’.

“Well, I think you’re good then,” Bucky makes some notes in Steve’s file before he tucks his pen in the elastic of his ponytail, which is the only method he’s found of not losing it. “Take paracetamol for any pain, not ibuprofen or aspirin. Try not to blow your nose, or, you know, get into any more fist fights while it heals.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it,” Steve sighs impatiently.

Bucky nods at him, and opens the door, allowing the patient and his friend to walk out. They wish him a goodnight and start walking towards the main entrance, chattering in quiet tones as they do.

“What’re you smiling about, Dopey?” Sharon asks, nudging him with her elbow, and Bucky realises he’s been staring at the retreating pair, probably looking like a fucking moron.

“Nothing,” he mumbles, clears his throat and picks up the next admission file, walking towards the waiting room.

“Is it the redhead or the blondie?” she asks, calling after him.

“The blonde,” he replies, his cheeks warming up. “Shut up!”

 

~~

 

The second time Steve shows up in the ER, he’s accompanied by yet another beautiful woman with soft brown curls and an exasperated expression on her face, while Steve is supporting his right arm in makeshift brace made out of a red cashmere scarf.

“So, was there another incident?”

Steve’s eyes suddenly light up, and Bucky belatedly realises he’s let on the fact that he recognises Steve, even though their first meeting was a month ago, and why would he remember a random patient when he sees hundreds of them every week.

“He fell off a tree,” the brunette replies in his stead, crossing her arms against her chest.

Bucky snorts. “What, was there a cat stuck up there?”

“Yep,” Steve smiles brightly at him.

“You’re kidding me,”

“Nope,”

“You know, there’s people you can call for that kind of thing, like firemen maybe, or tree-cat-rescuing people,” Bucky says, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

The woman snorts. “Like he’d ever do that,”

“Come on, Peggy, why would I bother them when I could just take care of it myself?”

“Because you _can’t_ take care of it yourself, you bloody idiot.”

Steve huffs and opens his mouth to speak, but he’s interrupted by Peggy. “Not only did he fall off and probably break his arm, he also scared off the poor kitten, and now the neighbour’s out looking for her,” she says, addressing Bucky.

Steve throws his good arm in the air. “It was an _accident_!”

Bucky grins but decides not to make a comment and instead goes through the standard questions. Steve smiles at him and tells him he likes his blue scrubs, and that the colour matches his eyes. Bucky feels his whole face heat up as he mumbles out a quiet _thanks,_ then tells Steve he’ll schedule him for an X-ray later in the afternoon.

“So should I just hang around here until then?”

“If you want, yes. In the waiting room, though, we’ll need this room to examine more patients.”

Steve nods. “You wanna keep me company?” he asks, grinning cheekily. “Have a cup of coffee maybe?”

Bucky chuckles, and shakes his head. “Thanks, but I actually have a lot more patients to see right now,”

“Another time, then,”

Bucky shrugs as he walks out the room, throwing his arms up for a comedic effect, and quickly makes his retreat before he actually changes his answer to ‘Yes’.

 

~~

 

The third time's a month later, when Steve comes in the walk-in clinic with a vicious cough and a suspicion that he has pneumonia. Bucky measures his heart rate and blood pressure, takes his temperature and hangs around while the doctor comes in to continue the physical examination, then confirms Steve’s suspicions. He’s admitted to be kept overnight and prescribed antibiotics, and immediately starts whining as soon as the doctor leaves, complaining about his immune system and claiming that his body hates him.

Bucky smiles softly. “Try to get some rest, okay? It’s not that bad, you’ll be good as new in no time.”

Steve scowls at him. “I’ve had pneumonia before, and I know for a fact you are lying.”

“I’m just trying to cheer you up,” Bucky replies, raising his hands up innocently.

“Yeah, yeah,” the blond settles into his pillows and throws an arm across his eyes. “I’m cheered up alright,”

Bucky lets out a quiet laugh as he walks out, and tries to keep from needlessly ‘checking up’ on Steve throughout the rest of his shift, and fails. Steve perks up every time he sees Bucky, bright smile lighting up his face.

“How you doing, Steve?” Bucky asks conversationally just before he’s about to clock out and head home. He picks up Steve’s chart and looks at it, though there’s nothing new to see or add. “Do you feel dizzy? Are you hot?”

Steve grins cheekily. “You bet I am,”

“Oh, shush.”

Bucky gives him his medication dose and asks him if he needs anything else, to which Steve asks, “Your number, maybe?”

Good God, the _nerve_ of this guy! Whether he’s serious or not, Bucky can’t tell, but he admires his straightforwardness either way. He might never flirt back or agree to go out with Steve, because he considers himself a professional, after all, but seeing Steve in the hospital doesn’t fail to make him smile. Which is rather unfortunate, seen as Steve is usually there because of an injury or illness of some sort.

Bucky sighs and wishes they’d met under different circumstances. “Get some rest, Steve. Goodnight,” he says before he heads for the door.

Steve smiles as he wishes him goodnight before Bucky walks out of the room.

 

~~

 

The fourth time, Steve comes in with a mild concussion and dehydration, arms thrown over the shoulders of two men, one of whom Bucky nicknames Tall, Dark and Handsome and the second Blonde, Not So Tall, and Probably Runs With Scissors. If he had to nickname Steve, it’d be Blond, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and Wouldn’t Mind If He Sat On My Face. But he decides to keep those thoughts to himself.

Steve tells him he fell and hit his head pretty badly because he’d felt dizzy, having forgotten to eat or drink anything all day. Bucky scolds him for it, feeling more than a little worried for this man who is basically a stranger. His words mostly go in one ear and out the other.

All Steve does is look up at him with a dopey smile, boop his nose and tell him, “You look pretty today,”

Bucky sputters in response. “Thank you,” is all he manages to say, butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

“You’re Nurse Bucky?” Blonde, Not So Tall, and Probably Runs with Scissors says. “Man, Steve has not shut up about you!” He exclaims, grinning like he’s just won the lottery, and doesn’t shut up even when Tall, Dark and Handsome nudges him in the ribs. “We were on the other side of town and had to drive all the way here because Steve here kept insisting he wanted his Bucky.”

And yup, this is how Bucky dies. Of embarrassment, in the exam room of the hospital he works in, surrounded by the most gorgeous and prone-to-injury man he’s ever known and his two friends who keep staring at him like they’re examining him.

“I’m just…gonna get the doctor,” Bucky mumbles out, all but running out the door, and doesn’t dare to check back on Steve before he is discharged.

 

~~

 

Bucky sighs as soon as he picks up the admission file and reads the name on it. He starts to wonder how this guy is so unlucky that he attracts injuries and illnesses like a magnet, or maybe if he’s just looking for excuses to turn up at the ER. No, it’s probably the first. He can’t surely be showing up here just to see Bucky.

Sharon comes by then, and tells him, “Blondie’s back,” while reaching over the front desk to grab a stack of post-it notes.

“I can see that,” Bucky says dryly, eyes scanning the document quickly.

“Well, he asked for you,” she tells him around a mouthful of double chocolate chip cookie.

Bucky cringes at her.

“What? I haven’t had time for lunch yet,” Sharon rolls her eyes at him.

“Wait, what do you mean he asked for me?”

“He asked,” Sharon swallows before speaking. “He asked if the cute male nurse with the ponytail was working today. I assume he meant you.”

Bucky sighs. “Yeah,” he picks up the file and heads for the waiting room.

Steve perks up from where he’s slumped onto one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs before Bucky even calls out his name. He swears internally and beckons him to follow him to exam room C.

Steve limps all the way to the room, then tells Bucky he tripped and fell down a short flight of stairs and sprained his ankle. “I think it might be broken. Do I need an X-Ray again?” he asks Bucky. “It’s been bruised badly for two days now and the painkillers don’t really help,”

“I doubt it’s broken, if it was you’d be in a lot more pain,” Bucky keeps his eyes focused on the ankle, a frown fixed on his face. “How much does it hurt, on a scale of 1 to 10?”

Steve lets out a deep breath. “I don’t know, 4 maybe? 5?”

Bucky lifts his head to look him in the eye. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” the blonde shrugs.

“Then it’s probably just sprained. I can get you a prescription for stronger painkillers, but you can just take Tylenol or Advil for it, and put ice on it to help with the pain. You can get an ankle brace and just let it rest for a few days. Keep it elevated, and try to not walk around too much.”

Steve makes a vague noise of protest, but nods. His eyebrows are knitted together in annoyance, though it looks like it’s directed at himself, and his mouth is twisted into a soft pout that just makes it look a lot more kissable.

Bucky takes a deep breath, and to distract himself, asks, “So, you just tripped and fell? You weren’t chasing a mugger or something?”

“Nope, just a regular every-day injury this time, I’m afraid,”

“Shame,” Bucky quips. “I do enjoy hearing your stories of heroisms.”

Woops, wrong thing to say. Bucky clears his throat and looks away, breaking eye contact.

“I have a lot more stories,” Steve says then, voice a little quieter than usual. “If you’d like to hear them,”

Bucky bites his lip and takes a step back, leaning against the counter, supporting himself on his hands. “I’m uh, I’m not sure-” he starts to say, stuttering and losing his nerve.

“By going on a date with me,” Steve adds, smiling sheepishly. “Just to be clear. Because I know I joked about it before, but I do like you,” he shrugs. “And I’d like to go out with you.”

Bucky nods slowly, heart racing in his chest. “I’m sorry, I can’t,” he says finally, his expression twisting into a regretful grimace. “I’d like to, but I don’t date patients.”

“Ever?” Steve asks, eyes growing a little wide. “No exceptions?”

Bucky shakes his head. Fuck, this is _awkward_. All he wants to do is say yes and go out with Steve, take him to a coffee shop where they serve actual coffee and look at his face for hours and listen to him talk about everything and anything. Steve could spend two hours talking about all the different types of sand and Bucky would still be hanging on his every word.

What he says instead is, “Sorry,” trying to sound as apologetic as possible.

“No, no,” Steve gives him a small smile. “I get that, it’s okay. Sorry for asking.” He gets up and picks up his jacket, starting to walk out of the room. Bucky offers to help him walk outside and waits for the taxi with him.

“Right then,” Steve says when the yellow cab shows up. He shoves his hands in his jeans’ pockets and looks up at Bucky, holding his gaze for a long moment. “Thanks. For everything. I’ll see you soon.”

“Just doing my job,” Bucky says, even if his heart skips a beat at hearing those words. No one ever thanks him, so when he does hear that his work is appreciated, it makes his whole day.

He waves goodbye and silently hopes he gets to see Steve soon again, then hates himself for thinking it, and instead hopes Steve will just keep himself healthy and away from any harm.

 

~~

 

He’s surprised to see Steve at the main desk a whole three months later, dressed in skinny black jeans and a white t-shirt that just makes him goddamn irresistible, blond hair falling into his eyes, a huge grin on his face and a cardboard tray with two coffees in his hand.

“Hey there,” he greets him with a little wave.

Bucky can’t help the surprise in his voice when he asks, “What are you doing here?” because clearly Steve is in great health and isn’t waiting to be seen by someone.

“Brought you coffee,” Steve hands him one of the cups. “Although actually, I consider these more like liquid desserts.”

Bucky laughs and takes a sip, humming appreciatively at the taste of coffee and caramel, then eats some of the whipped cream with his straw. “Thanks. How’d you know I’d be working today? Haven’t seen you in a while,”

Steve pushes his hair out of his eyes and takes a step closer, looking up at Bucky to meet his gaze. “I know. I accidentally ate some peanut butter cookies last month, and I have a minor nut allergy, so I went to the hospital that’s a five minute walk from my house. Instead of driving to this one that’s a great deal out of my way.”

Bucky blinks at him. “Why did you keep coming here then, before that?”

“’Cause I wanted to see you,” Steve shrugs, a slight blush colouring his cheeks as he looks down at his shoes for a moment. “Of course if I realised then how creepy it actually is for a nurse to date a patient, I wouldn’t have. But…”

Bucky shakes his head, smiling from ear to ear. “You’re an idiot,”

Steve shrugs again, looking utterly embarrassed, which is unusual, given how confident he had been all the other times he’d flirted with Bucky. “Okay, but I’m also adorable, and I like you a lot. So… now that I’m not longer a patient here, how about that cup of coffee we talked about?”

“We didn’t talk about anything. And,” Bucky shakes his cup. “I’m drinking one, so I think we’re good anyway,”

Steve nods, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Well, it was worth a shot,” he says with a tight-lipped smile and raises his cup in a salute before he turns to walk away.

“Steve, wait, I was joking,” Bucky calls out, rushing ahead to stand in front of him. “You _are_ kind of adorable, and I’d very much like to go out with you.”

And there it is, the smile that lights up his whole face and makes it look like the sun’s just come out, and Bucky’s stomach is doing somersaults at the sight, trying to resist the temptation to lean in and kiss Steve right there and then.

“Okay, then,” Steve reaches up and pulls out the pen from where it’s stuck in Bucky’s hair, and uses it to scribble his number on Bucky’s coffee cup, making the nurse laugh at him.

“Call me when you’re free.”

And then he’s off, walking away with a little wave and Bucky stands there frozen in his spot, watching as he retreats, then reading the numbers written in a messy handwriting on his cup.

“Well,” Sharon comes up to him then, and jeez, the woman has the worst timing. “That took fucking forever.”

Bucky nudges her but laughs anyway, and starts counting down the minutes until his shift is over and he can head home and call Steve.

 

~~

 

Bucky sighs as he puts down a patient file, and picks up another, but he’s interrupted by Sharon who slides up to him. “Your boyfriend is here to see you,” she says, taking a bite of her apple.

“Visiting or did he injure himself again?” Bucky says, trying to hide his worry that it might be the latter. In the two years that he’s dated Steve, he’s come to realise just how clumsy and prone to accidents the man is, which, added to his other ailments and weak immune system, gives Bucky semi-heart attacks every other week. Steve keeps telling him not to worry so much, but Bucky can’t help it. The thought of something fatal happening to Steve scares him so much; he can’t imagine not having Steve in his life.

“Dunno,” Sharon shrugs. “He’s waiting for you in exam room B,”

Bucky nods at her and turns around, heading towards the exam room. He opens the door to see Steve standing there, utterly unharmed, looking darn good if he’s being honest, with those skinny jeans Bucky loves so much, hair parted to his side, falling in his eyes a little, a small smile curving his lips as soon as he sees Bucky.

“Hey,” Bucky returns the smile, stepping closer to peck Steve on the lips. “Come to see me?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, and proceeds to sink down on one knee, retrieving a small black box from the pocket of his jacket, and opens it to reveal a simple silver band with a black diamond stone in the centre.

Bucky’s eyes grow wide open and his heart starts racing in his chest. “Steve,” he says, voice wavering. “What are you doing?”

“Bucky. Two years and three months ago, in this very room, I met a beautiful, incredible man, who changed my life for the better,” Steve stops and swallows, then takes a deep breath before he continues, his voice quiet and unsteady. “Not only because you patch me up whenever I hurt myself, but also because you make me happier than I ever thought it was possible I could be,”

“Steve,” Bucky breathes, feeling weak at the knees.

“Wait, let me finish,” Steve gives him a shaky smile.

Bucky bites on his bottom lip and nods, allowing him to continue.

“You’re my best friend, and my soulmate, and I love you more than you can imagine. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Steve breathes out, looking like he’s about to cry, but Bucky doesn’t blame him; he himself is on the verge anyway.

“James Buchanan Barnes… will you marry me?”

Bucky covers his mouth with one hand, hiding the teary smile that curves his mouth, eyebrows pinched together as tears form in his eyes. He starts nodding enthusiastically, as he drops to his knees and throws his arms around Steve’s neck.

“Yes,” he manages to say, sounding utterly choked up. “Yes, Steve, yes, of course I will, God, I love you so much,”

Steve visibly relaxes and breathes out a soft laugh, arms tightening around Bucky. “I love you, too, Buck. So much.”

Bucky pulls back and cups Steve’s face in his hands before he leans in and presses their mouths together, kissing him hungrily. Steve laughs against his mouth but reciprocates just as eagerly, their lips moving against each other’s as they keep kissing, uncaring of where they are.

They break apart eventually, and Steve takes Bucky’s hand in his, and slides the ring onto his finger slowly, then looks up and meets his gaze. “I guess that means we’re engaged now.”

Bucky grins again, feeling like he’s floating on cloud nine. “That means you’re my fiance now.”

“And you’re mine,”

Bucky leans in, pressing a soft, tender kiss to Steve’s mouth, lips locking for a moment before they break apart and look at each other again.

“I’m yours,” Bucky breathes, lips curling into a faint smile. “Till the end of the line.”

  


 


End file.
